Protocol | China: Will China remain crypto miner to the world?

Protocol reported in March that the provincial-level government in Inner Mongolia had soured on the energy-sucking activity. But it’s not the only sub-national government in China taking aim at the practice.

• Beijing’s municipal government issued an emergency notice in April requiring mining businesses to share information about the amount of energy their activities consumed throughout 2020 before the end of the month.
• Xinjiang is reportedly under “great pressure to reduce emissions,” and most of its mining machines are reportedly being transferred to Sichuan, which makes extensive use of hydropower. But Sichuan miners recently went without power for three consecutive days due to a shortage of electricity in the province.
• Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Sichuan are the three big mining regions; as they go, so goes the industry in China.

Beijing clearly views crypto mining as a threat to its goals. Specifically, carbon neutrality, which Xi Jinping has pledged to achieve by 2060, along with specific CO2 emissions reduction targets in the country’s 14th five-year plan. This is a problem when 75% of the world’s Bitcoin mining happens in China.

via mailchi.mp

Well, the PRC is right. Bitcoin does ultimately undermine the CCP, if it does anything.